Apparatus for grading granular substances.



R. MOODIE.

APPARATUS FOR GRADING GRANULAB SUBSTANCES.

APPLIUATIOH Hum FEB. 25, 1908.

919,291, Patented Apr.20, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET L WITNESSEE ATTORNEYS R. MOODIE. APPARATUS FOR GRADING GBANULAB SUBSTANCES.

urmoulon FILED 123.25,

Patentd Apr. 20

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOKNEYS ROBERT MOODIE, OF GOODMAYES, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS son GRADING oamcma snss'rmoa s.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 20, 1909.

Application filed February 26, 1908. Serial No. 417,763.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT Moomn, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, of 65 Eastwood road, Goodmayes, in the county of Essex, England, have invented new and useful Ap aratus for Grading Granular Substances, which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus especially intended for separating, or radin substances of different sizes, or spec' c gravities, such as ground, or crushed, grain, minerals, and the like, but it may be used also for separating dust from air. For the purose of description I will presume it is to lie employed for separating, or grading,

ranular substances. It has an outer chamer and an inner chamber for the reception of the coarse and fine particles respectively and a fan rotating on a vertical axis. The material to be graded, or separated, is fed into the u per part of the outer chamber. Between t c said chambers are revolving disks with spaces between them, communieating with the outer chamber, an opening in the center of the disks giving communication with the inner chamber to receive the fine portions. above the fan which causes air to pass from the outer chamber inward between the disks and into the inner chamber.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 respectively show a vertical section and a plan, alf in cross section, (the upper part of the section being taken on the line B and the lower art on the line A Fig. 1), of a constructional form of ap aratus in accordance with my invention. Fig. 3 is a horizontal broken section showingthe guide blades g; and Figs. 4 and 5 are views correspondin to Figs. 1 and 2 respectively, of a modifier construction of the apparatus.

a is the outer chamber, or casing, to which the granular material is so plied and where-- in the separation of the e particles from the coarse particles takes place and into the lower part of which the coarse particles (lGSCGIH and from which they are removed.

I) is the inner chamber Where the fine particles are separated from the air and are deposited and from which they are removed.

0 is the fan for circulatin the air which is used over and over again, the said fan being fixed to a vertical shaft S mounted in bearings as shown and provided with means for driving it from any suitable source of power.

The said disks are preferably d are the disks for separating the fine particles from the coarse articles. The upper disk is connected to t e fan shaft and the other disks are connected to the upper disk by bolts d with distance pieces (1 as shown.

6 is an inner tube, or cylinder, connected to, and rotatin with, the disksd and fans.

f are disks which are attached to, and rotate with, the cylinder 6 and have openings throu h which the air returns to the fan cham er.

g are stationary guide-plates, or baffles, fixed to the casing a (or suspended from the cover) opposite the disks (1 to direct air from thefan c to between the disks d.

The granular'material to be separated, or graded, is fed by the pi e h into the central hopper, or funnel, i at t e top and falls onto the distributing disk j fixed to the fan shaft and is thrown by centrifugal force outward all round and descends between the guideplates, or baflies, g in vertical streams 0 pcsite the outer edge of the revolving disl s d. An upward current of air from the .fan c meets the descending'streams of materials and lifts the lighter, or smaller, particles which are drawn toward the center through the disks d by the current of air and are re- 'ected by the said disks d if too large, or too eavy, and fall with the coarse particles onto the curved plate is and into the lower part of the outer-casing a. The fine particles which have passed through the spaces between the .disks (1 are carried to the centerwith the air, some of such particles being deposited on the inner surface of the revolving tube, or cylinder, e, where it may be allowed to accumulate and fall ofi, or maybe scraped, or brushed, off while running. A further separation of the fine particles, or dust, from the air may be accomplished by the whirling inside the casing b and still further by the disks f at the point of return of the air to the fan 0. The arrows denote the direction of the air-currents.

lis the outlet for coarse particles and m is the outlet for fine particles.

n are brushes fixed to the fan shaft to brush the material into the said outlets.

Figs. 4 and 5 show, in views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, another constructional-form of the apparatus including means for fe'edin t e apparatus to insure that the material will approach the points of separation at a constant, or uniform, velocity, for which purpose the said material is caused to trickle down an incline constituted by the cone p from the periphery of which they fall round the circumference among the guides 9. For some materials, such as crushed grain, and the like, it is desirable to take the coarsest particles out before the material passes into the lower part of the separator. For this pu ose a cylinder q surrounds the feed disk 7', t e upper part of this cylinder (1 being lain and provided with an outlet 1" and the ower part being perforated. On the disk 7' are two, orv more, vertical projections, or blades, 8 shaped so as to toss the material upward and also against the perforated part 0 the cylinder q, the finer particles assing through the said perforated part to t e feed cone 1) and the coarser particles being rArojected upward and caused to ove ow through the spout r. This apparatus is shown as being provided with an arrangement for scraping from the interior of the pipe, or cylinder, 6 the material deposited t ereon. Vertical swiveling blades, or scrapers, t are supported on arms it carried by a lighttube v mounted on the shaft S of the fan and these are, by centrifugal force, kept in contact with the interior of the pipe, or cylinder, e and revolve with it. When it is required to dislodge the accumulated material, the rod w is thrust into contact with the stop a: on one of the arms it thus arresting the blades, or scra ers, t. Heavy dust falls of itself, or when t e speed is slackened. In this arrangement an annular space y is shown between the casing a and the part carr 'ng the guide-blades g so that a portion of t e coarse particles may be s un round and u ward by the current from t e fan and disciiarged at z. The guideblades 9 may be of various forms to suit the various materials.

Fig. 3 shows a suitable form for certain materials. By altering the width of the Q s aces between the disks (1, or by varying t e force of the blast, or air-current, or by both means combined, the produce may be finer, or coarser, as desired. The spaces between the disks may be altered by any suitable means as for instance by putting longer, or shorter, distance pieces between them.

The depositing Chambers at and b may be conical at the bottom for selfdelivery, as in Figs. 1 and 2, or they may be flat at the bottom, as in Figs. 4 and 5, and be taken out at intervals, or discharged in any convenient manner. In the arrangement Figs. 4 and 5 the disks f (shown in Fig. 1), are not shown as being used and the fan 0 is shown asbeing driven from below instead of from above.

I do not bind myself to the exact details l of the drawings, or methods, described in carrying my invention into effect, as they may be varied to suit various conditions, or materials.

I claim a 1. In a separator or grader, a casing, a

centrifugal disk rotatable within said casing and provided with a centralpassa e, means for directing an air current upwardi y outside of said disk across the face of the latter and down through said central assage in combination with means for fee in the material to be separated to said upward ydirected air current whereby the heavier scend against the action of sai ai." current and only the higher particles are carried to the centrifugal member thereby.

2. In a separator or grader, a casing, a centrifugal disk rotatable within said casing and provided with a central passage, means for circulating the air within the casing upwardly outside of said disk, across the same, down through said central opening and upward again in continuous circuit, in combination with means for feeding the material to be-separated to said upwardly directed air current whereby the heavier particles descend against the action of said air current and only the higher particles are carried to the centrifugal member thereby.

3. In a separator or grader, a fan, ahollow cylindrical carrier therefor, and means to rotate the same in combination with a revolving disk arranged above said fan and provided with a central passage opening to the interior of said cylindrical carrier, and means for directing the air current from the fan across said disk, through said carrier and back to the fan again, substantially as described. i

4. In a separator or grader, a casing, a centrifugal disk rotatable within said casing and provided with a central passage, means for directing an air current upwardly outside of said disk across the face of the latter and down through said central passage in combination with guides to direct the air current to said disk and means for feeding the material to be separated to said upwardly directed air current whereby the heavier particles descend against the action of said air )current and only the lighter particles are carried to the centrifugal member thereby.

5. In a separator or grader, a fan, a hollow i carrier therefor and means to rotate the same, in combination with a revolving disk i provided with a central passage opening to i the interior of said hollow carrier through which an air current is forced by said fan, together with a supplemental disk having a central opening mounted on said carrier, said air current being directed inwardly i across said supplemental disk and through i said perforation to the fan.

6. In a separator or grader, an outer chamber and an inner chamber, a lurality of 3 horizontally arranged centr' al disks E spaced apart and provided wit central openings forming a passage from the outer to the inner chamber, in combination with means for feeding the material to be sifted articles de-.

to said outer chamber and means for driving an air current upward against the streams of falling material in the outer chamber inwardl; across the centrifugal disks through the interstices separating the same and down through the central openings therein to the inner chamber, substantially as described.

7. In a separator or grader, an outer chamber for heavier particles and an inner chamber for lighter particles, a series of horizontal centrifugal dis s spaced apart and provided with central openings forming a passageway. between said inner and outer chambers, means for forcing an air current from the outer chamber inwardly across the face of only the lighter particles are taken up and carried to said disks by the air current, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT MOODIE.

Y Witnesses:

H. D. JAMEsoN, CHAR-LES WILLIAM CRooKER. 

